these rumors about him being a hitler fan are all well known for years.  I mean just look at him in the 1970 video of them miming to Stoah, hes really just copying hitler's mannerisms.  Honestly, i think he was just fascinated by the power/emotion of the guy as opposed to his ethics and wanted to capture that raw emotion when he sings.

Thanks for the replies.

Tom, at times Vander’s drumming does have a military sound. I’m not fond of that aspect of his drumming and prefer the other stuff he does. For instance I’ve been meaning to mention that I like the Santana-ish sound at the beginning of Kobaia and how he does it for punctuation and dramatic effects in that song and others.

Jaz, I saw the little Nazi signs in the cover design, and I thought, as you pointed out, that the artwork was depicting the destruction of the earth because of all the bad stuff that was happening on it. (one of the bad things being Nazism)

I suppose in the early 70s a group singing in a strange language that looked/sounded like German and dressed in black with a logo on their shirts would be scary and unusual to people. Though I don’t think the logo itself looks anything Nazi-like. I think it looks sci-fi. As you say, people didn’t understand what the band was about and misinterpreting things.

I’ve read that Vander is a fan of and influenced by John Coltrane. I wouldn’t think that a Nazi white supremacist would be a fan of John Coltrane. I can’t imagine why he’d do an interview for a white supremacist publication. That was a bad idea.

Getting back to the Magma logo emblem and first cover design, that is interesting what Hellogoodbye posted. I had wondered if the bird claw on the first album cover was what the logo emblem was supposed to resemble. But now Vander explained that it isn’t bird related. I wonder what the bird claw represents? The fingers of the claw look like molten magma sprawling out. It looks like smoke at the top. Could it be a volcano with lava coming down? Is this volcano claw there to put an end to the bad thing things happening on Earth? Another thing the smoke top and claw reminds me of is a nuclear blast cloud. Though I don’t think that is what it is.

Taking both daughters to see them next Saturday.

Your son will be 'initiated'. This will be his moment of profound revelation.
.......or he will be knocked-out by Vander's playing
You guys are fortunate. Can't see Magma playing Down Under anytime soon.

As I understand it, Vander gave an interview to a French white supremacist publication called R & A, which didn't help his image.

by George Allen, Robert Pearson, Published 1995-11-01

GA: Is the emblem for Magma meant to depict a bird, say, or is it an abstract symbol?

When I created it, I never thought of a bird. I had an idea inside about a symbol or emblem, and just wrote it down on a piece of paper, sketched it. The idea at the beginning was something like the dress of the Egyptians. It was supposed to be like a piece of cloth or articulated metal sheets that would mold over the body, over the ribcage. It was to be similar to breastplate armor, but supple, not rigid.

GA: The name Magma itself, is that part of Kobaïan, or does it refer to molten lava, and is it reflective of the style or material of the band?

Yes, it refers directly to lava. Back in 1966, I had written a piece and I was already in a band with Bernard Paganotti, who became a bass player. Already, I was searching for the right word. The tune I wrote back then was called Nogma. I was looking for the word Magma, but didn't know it was what I was looking for. One day the band didn't have a name at the time, and they were standing in front of a fairly-well-known club in Paris. The club management told me If you dont have a name, you can't come and play tonight. So we went for coffee, at the coffee shop next door. I thought deeply, you know, and the word Magma, came out. At the same time, I founded Univeria Zekt. I wrote this down on the receipt from the coffee shop and kept it.

GA: Does the name Magma mean to reflect the qualities of flexibility and heat. Would those be adjectives or characteristics of your music that you value?

At the beginning, when I found the name, the name was bigger than me at the time, but it was inside of myself at the same time. I had to learn in time; I didnt know what it meant. And I kept on practicing to be at the same level as the name. And I am still practicing, to live up to the name and the evocation of the name

The 'big wigs' at my workplace are more Nazi than Magma could ever be.
Maybe they thought Vander's drumming had a militaristic styling to it, along with the vocal style. To my knowledge (which is bugger-all), Nazis were politically motivated bullies, Magma are NOT.
And now to spin me E-Re.
Happy Easter, everybody

Jaz wrote: in 1970, so strange for the French, people think that Magma is a nazi group ! (look at the photo of the first album) people were fighting before the concerts !

Really? What was it that made people think they were a nazi group?

I give a try to Magma too many times, I listen to the same album 4 or 5 times, and still didn't like it

Listen to it the whole week. Not so much felicity as I hoped.  I'll pick up E-Rë first.